Close to £200,000 invested in tackling rough sleeping in Yorkshire

Yorkshire joins 28 communities to have been given a grant in the past year to ensure nobody is forced to sleep on the streets for more than one night.

With rough sleeping numbers on the rise across England, Yorkshire-based homelessness organisation SASH has been successfully awarded £199,071 to tackle rough sleeping in the area. The announcement comes as the Government launches its latest plan to prevent homelessness, Making Every Contact Count, today.

The grant is part of a £3.5m pot from the Homelessness Transition Fund to 21 projects that aim to ensure no one lives on our streets.

There are more than 100 people estimated to be sleeping on the streets of Yorkshire on any one night. SASH will work in partnership with The Hinge Centre, a charity based in Bridlington, to develop new services for 16-24 year olds at risk of rough sleeping.

The £20m independent Fund was set up to support the Government's rough sleeping strategy 'Vision to end rough sleeping: No Second Night Out nationwide' and supports the Government's prevention plan, launched today.

Administered by umbrella body for homeless charities, Homeless Link, the Fund received 73 applications from charities wanting to protect key homelessness services and adopt initiatives like No Second Night Out*.

SASH PREVENTING YOUTH HOMELESSNESS PROJECT

SASH project will:

recruit, train and support a network of volunteers to develop local Nightstops* providing emergency accommodation for young people facing homelessness

providing longer-term accommodation in the homes of volunteers for young people unable to live at home, along with support to help them develop independent living skills

offering thorough assessments to ensure young people's suitability for the project

helping young people to return home to their family where appropriate

These services will be made possible thanks to a network of volunteer 'hosts', people from the local community who offer their spare room to help young people who have been made homeless.

Welcoming the grant, Peter Robinson, Director of SASH, said: "We are delighted to have been awarded this grant, which will enable us to help some of the most vulnerable young people in the East Riding. "SASH has been helping young homeless people since 1996, using its highly successful model of a volunteer-led project that gives local people the chance to help members of their own communities who have been made homeless. "We are really looking forward to developing the projects in Bridlington and East Riding and giving young people a safe alternative to rough sleeping."

Martin Crossland, Strategic Development Manager at The Hinge said:

"This is fantastic news for homeless young people who need support at a crucial time to prevent them from becoming long-term homeless. With this funding we will be able to provide the help they need to get safely through a crisis and access the services they are entitled to."

Commenting, Sharon Allen, Chair of the Fund's Grants Panel said:"With over 2000 people sleeping out on any one night, we need to find better ways to prevent individuals from ending up on our streets and to help homeless people back on their feet. "We were really impressed by the idea for the Preventing Youth Homelessness project and hope this new funding will help make a real difference to those in Yorkshire who find themselves without a home."

Housing Minister Grant Shapps said:

"We have some of the strongest protections in the world to safeguard people from homelessness, despite trying economic times, with homelessness in this country lower than for 28 of the last 30 years. But more can always be done. "No single voluntary service, government agency, council or government department can prevent homelessness alone - but working together we can make a big impact. Every single contact these vulnerable people have with our public services - from council drop-ins to healthcare visits - should be made to count, turning prevention into the cure for anyone facing the real and frightening prospect of sleeping on the streets. "And for those who still fall through the cracks, a further £3.6m of Government money to roll out our No Second Night Out pledge across the country means that anyone facing losing their home and sleeping rough will get the help they need and deserve."